


And I'm Falling

by Emerald Embers (emeraldembers)



Category: Heroes - Fandom
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-04-02
Updated: 2010-04-02
Packaged: 2017-10-08 15:14:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/76960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emeraldembers/pseuds/Emerald%20Embers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set in the "Five Years Later" universe - Peter knows that isn't his brother; Hiro knows what Peter is without Nathan.</p>
            </blockquote>





	And I'm Falling

"You again?" Peter asks, rolling his glass of whiskey up and down against the wood in small circles, knowing the answer full well.

"You should not be alone," Hiro replies, keeping his distance, knowing he could stop Peter in an instant if he had to but not wanting to. Their truce is uneasy - anyone's relationship with either him or Peter is uneasy these days, a small sacrifice for survival in this world.

Peter laughs, darkly, before abandoning the glass and turning to Hiro. Once upon a time he would have thrown the glass, but there's little point in it anymore; he's grown out of venting his anger this way. There are better ways to get revenge for his suffering. "And you thought you could help?"

"Nathan -"

"Don't say his name," Peter interrupts with a dangerous sort of calm.

"I know that isn't him," Hiro explains. Reason; reason for his visit, reason he should have the right to use the other Petrelli's name. "I do not know what happened, but -"

"Whoever that is knows what happened to Nathan," Peter says, and for a moment his breath hitches. "They know if he's alive, or -" He can't bring himself to say it, even though he knows it's the truth. He doesn't expect it to be the truth - he fucking _knows_, knew days ago before anyone thought to say something to him, felt it in his gut and feels it again every damn time he looks up at the impostor on the television. He can't tell anyone, not really, would look even more insane if he dared, but...

Hiro stays steady, calm, knows this look or something close to it. Knows what he did after Ando, and as deep as his love for Ando was, at least it was a healthy love. Whatever Peter had with Nathan wasn't healthy; it was smothering.

"Do you remember what it was like before you could swim?" Peter asks at length, gripping his knees.

"No."

Peter laughs again, broken, wipes at his eyes, at imaginary tears. "Figures. That's what it's like. I'm fucking drowning without him."

"You hadn't talked in months," Hiro reminds him.

"Didn't need to," Peter says. "I embarrassed him. I was a mess, I was his fuck-up of a little brother but he still loved me, damn it." He's talking in the past tense; is aware of that, even if he can't quite say the words out loud.

Nathan - is - dead.

"For God's sake," Peter spits before wiping at his eyes again, still imaginary tears, still not actually crying. His eyes burn with the need to cry but there's only so many times you can break down in a week before you're dried up and it's just ghost sobs wracking your body. "How come no one else noticed?"

"They don't want to see. Not in their president," Hiro replies, not needing to add in the extras - that people are overlooking the segregation, the camps, the parallels. They don't want to think of themselves that way and choose not to.

Peter swallows back bile, tenses as Hiro comes closer but doesn't do anything to stop him. "What're you here for, then?"

"Some of us still fight."

"We lost," Peter reminds him. "Without Nathan, there's no hope."

Hiro chooses not to point out Nathan had started this war long before whoever this pretend-Nathan is took control. "There is always hope."

"I remember someone else saying that," Peter replies. "Didn't work out so well for him, did it?"

.

Hiro leaves at that; he'll accept Peter's anger to a degree, more than many others would, but there are limits. Bringing up Ando's fate is a low blow too far.

Peter can sit and stew as long as he wants; there are other events to prepare for.

Hiro has to stop the past, whatever it takes.

.

The End


End file.
